William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858)

The 6th Duke of Devonshire, known as the “Bachelor Duke,” was one of the wealthiest and most cultivated men in Regency England. Hayter painted this portrait in 1816, relatively early in his own career, when the Duke was twenty-six and already a major art patron. The painting remains at Chatsworth House, the Devonshire family seat in Derbyshire, which the 6th Duke transformed into one of Europe’s great treasure houses. George Hayter was the preeminent British history and portrait painter of the early Victorian era, appointed Principal Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria in 1841.

The young Hayter’s technique shows the influence of Thomas Lawrence in the warm flesh tones and fluid handling of costume. The composition emphasizes the Duke’s patrician bearing and self-possessed expression.